Seasonal long-distance bird migration between wintering and breeding grounds is oneof the most remarkable phenomena in the history of life on earth. Migration strategies androutes vary greatly. Some birds migrate in social groups whilst others migrate alone at night,some cross few hundreds of km whilst others cover thousands of km. Avian migration has beenstudied extensively nevertheless numerous important questions remain unanswered. This studyaims to contribute to the understanding of the genetic basis of the innate migratory program ofa common songbird.From results of classical crossbreeding and orientation experiments with captiveblackcaps (Sylvia atricapilla) we can be sure that songbird migration directions as well asdurations are traits that are being inherited genetically and most likely have a multi-locusgenetic architecture. The chosen model species for my project is the willow warbler(Phylloscopus trochilus), one of the most common leaf warblers in the Palearctic. The willowwarbler has a continuous breeding distribution from the coast of the Atlantic to the coast ofPacific. They overwinter in sub-Saharan Africa. Three subspecies have been recognized: P. t.trochilus (breeding in central/western Europe and migrating SSW to western Africa), P. t.acredula (breeding in northern and eastern Europe, migrating SSE to east and south Africa)and P. t. yakutensis (breeding east of Ural Mountains, presumably migrating to SouthernAfrica). Morphological differences across the willow warbler subspecies are subtle and it has been previously shown that genome wide FST is close to zero. The low level of neutral back-ground divergence offers a good system for studying the genetics of passerine migration. This report contributes with novel data on phenotypes and genotypes of the subspecies yakutensisstudied at Chaun river delta, at the very eastern range limit of the species. As a proxy for thewintering location of yakutensis I used C and N stable isotope signatures from winter grownfeathers and inferred wintering range to be in Southern Africa. I genotyped 36 yakutensis fromChaun on four nuclear markers, of which three are located on the only divergent regions thatdiffers between the migratory phenotypes in Europe + CLOCK gene (a candidate for timing ofmigration). Analyzes revealed that yakutensis, despite strong differences in migration direction,distance, timing and wintering ground location cannot be separated from acredula genetically.

The thesis deals with the oral, or folk epic of the non-Slavonic peoples inhabiting Siberia, excluding the so-called Palaeosiberians. It is divided into four main parts, as follows: I. Essay on the historicity of epics, in general terms, but with special reference to those of Siberia. II. Discussion of the epics of the two main groups, Mongolian (Burjat) and Turkic, which latter includes the Yakut of the north. Form and construction of the epics, with remarks on their versification, mode of presentation, and content, in general. III. Details of the content, shown in summaries of the stories of selected epics. IV. A short account of the Soviet attitudes towards folk literature, and conclusion. The appended bibliography lists the major works in the field, both primary and secondary, and the Glossarial Index gives excursi upon several topics and motifs regularly met with. / Arts, Faculty of / Central Eastern Northern European Studies, Department of / Graduate

Depuis des décennies, l’origine du peuple Sakha interroge les chercheurs en raison de ses particularités économiques et linguistiques. L'histoire de la Iakoutie est abordée via les données historiques et les études menées par diverses écoles scientifiques. On assiste, dès la colonisation de la Iakoutie au XVIIème siècle, à une évolution culturelle, notamment sous l'influence de la culture russe et de l’orthodoxie. L'étude historique de la société iakoute au sein de l'État russe, via les données en partie inédites, nous permet d’envisager les facteurs de son évolution au cours des siècles et ses mutations sociétales. Notre étude s'appuie aussi sur les données ethnoarchéologiques qui sont issues des travaux de la mission archéologique française en Sibérie Orientale et en Mongolie.À travers l’ethnoarchéologie, j’étudie le peuplement et l’histoire de cette population. La conservation exceptionnelle de tombes fouillées, liée à la présence du pergélisol, nous permet de mener des études approfondies sur les pratiques funéraires et culturelles à travers le riche mobilier associé à ces tombes. Cette approche transversale de la culture Sakha est utilisée dans notre recherche afin de mieux cerner son évolution, ses ruptures et ses transformations ethniques et culturelles. La visée principale de cette recherche est de montrer la transformation culturelle de la société Sakha entre le XVIIème et le début de XXème siècle avec un regard posé sur les siècles précédents. / For many decades researchers have been interested in the origins of the Sakha culture because of its economic and linguistic distinctive features. The Yakutia history has been examined through historical data and studies conducted by various scientific schools. With the colonization of Yakutia in the 17th century, comes a cultural evolution due in particular to the rise of the influence of Russian culture and Orthodoxy. The historical study of the colonized Yakute society within the Russian State, via the data unedited, enables us to understand the factors of its evolution over the centuries along with its societal mutations. Our study is also based on ethnoarcheological data resulting from the work the French archeological mission in Eastern Siberia and Mongolia. Through ethnoarcheology, I study the population and the history of these people. Thanks to permafrost, the excavated graves are exceptionally well preserved, which gives us the opportunity to conduct in-depth studies on funerary and cultural practices through the rich movable property found with these graves. In our research, we use this transversal approach of the Sakha culture in order to better understand its evolution, discontinuities as well as its ethnic and cultural transformations. The main objective of this research is to highlight the cultural transformation of the Sakha society from the 17th century to the 20th century while observing the previous centuries.

La démographie de l’espace sibérien constitue le cadre général de cette étude. L’analyse se concentre sur les processus migratoires et sur le rôle qu’ils jouent dans le peuplement et le dépeuplement de l’Est de la Russie. Si les statistiques officielles nous permettent de saisir à diverses échelles géographiques les tendances principales, plusieurs enquêtes de terrain, qualitatives et quantitatives sont au cœur de ce travail, menées dans deux régions de l’Est russe : le kraï de Krasnoïarsk et l’oblast de l’Amour, auprès de la population générale et d’un échantillon de migrants présents dans les deux régions d’étude et originaires d’Ukraine, d’Arménie, d’Azerbaïdjan, Kirghizistan, Ouzbékistan, Tadjikistan et Chine.Après avoir précisé les flux migratoires intrarégionaux, le processus d’exode rural, le déclin des villes secondaires et la forte attractivité des capitales régionales, l’étude portant sur l’échantillon de migrants met l’accent sur la distinction entre les temporaires et permanents, en tenant toutefois compte de l’impossibilité d’appliquer strictement un classement binaire à un phénomène complexe et fluide. Nous identifions différentes stratégies migratoires, indépendantes des statuts légaux accordés aux migrants en Russie. En tenant compte des intentions exprimées par les répondants, on est par ailleurs en mesure d’estimer le degré de conversion des temporaires en permanents, le pourcentage des étrangers ayant l’intention de s’installer à long terme en Russie et, en définitive, l’apport de l’immigration à la population des deux régions.A l’issue de cette recherche les projections démographiques permettent de réfléchir aux conséquences démographiques de différents contextes économiques et sociopolitiques de la Russie. La démarche fait ressortir une fois encore l’importance du facteur migratoire pour le devenir démographique de la Russie, ainsi que la nécessité d’un nouveau développement de l’attractivité des régions périphériques et de la Sibérie en général.Nous développons en conclusion une réflexion sur les conditions permettant un apport positif de la migration à l’économie et à la démographie sibérienne : favoriser la mobilité temporaire et à courte distance pour freiner la migration permanente de l’Est vers l’Ouest, améliorer le potentiel d’attraction des régions sibériennes en menant un réel processus de décentralisation politique et économique. Un tel processus n’est pas d’actualité, mais pourrait prendre place à moyen ou long terme. / The demographics of the Siberian area are the general framework of this study. The analysis focuses on migratory processes and the role they play in the population and depopulation of eastern Russia. Although the official statistics enable us to grasp the main trends on various geographical scales, several qualitative and quantitative field surveys are at the heart of this work, led in two regions of eastern Russia: Krasnoyarsk Krai and Amur Oblast, with the general population and a sample of migrants present in both study regions who were originally from Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China.After having described the intra-regional migratory flows, the rural exodus process, the decline of secondary cities and the strong appeal of the regional capitals, the study based on the sample of migrants places a strong emphasis on the difference between temporary and permanent migrants, yet takes into account the impossibility of strictly applying a binary classification to a complex and fluid phenomenon. We identify various migratory strategies that are independent from the legal statuses granted to migrants in Russia. Taking into account the intentions expressed by the respondents, we are able to estimate to what extent temporary migrants are converted to permanent migrants, the percentage of foreigners who intend to stay in Russia long term and give a definitive picture of immigration's contribution to the population of the two regions.At the end of this research, the demographic projections enable us to discuss the demographic consequences of various economic and socio-political contexts in Russia. The approach once again brings out the importance of the migratory factor to Russia's demographic future, as well as the need to newly develop the appeal of peripheral regions and Siberia in general.In conclusion, we discuss the conditions enabling the positive contribution of migration to the Siberian economy and demography: promoting temporary and short-distance mobility to slow down permanent migration from east to west and improving the potential for Siberian regions to attract migrants by leading a concrete political and economic decentralisation process. These processes are not yet in place, but could be implemented in the medium or long term.

This thesis contributes to the research on Czech dialects in language enclaves abroad. Its objective is to describe the language of the Czech minority in the villages of Repinka, Voskresenka and Novohradka in Russia, Omsk, the territory of Kalachinsk. The research is restricted only to the oldest generations, i.e. people over the age of fifty-five, whose language use is analyzed on these traditional levels of language: phonology, morphology, syntax and marginally also lexicology. The theoretical part of this research deals with the history of Czech immigrants in Tsarist Russia. The study then focuses on the history of Czech immigrants in regions connected with moving to Siberia and on the present philological researches on the Czech community in Omsk region. The following part describes the methods of the data processing. Transcriptions of recorded speeches and prayers in the Czech language set down in Cyrillic alphabet were used as the input data. They were described separately for each language level. Most attention is paid to the elements which help to classify the dialect of Repinka under one of the dialect groups of the Czech language, and furthermore to language elements influenced by foreign languages (especially by Russian). In the conclusion, the author summarizes the obtained results. On...

Diploma thesis Russian efforts to export natural gas to People's Republic of China until 2014 is work discussing cooperation in the field of Russian natural gas deliveries to China. My aim is to analyze this cooperation and answer the question what circumstances lead these two countries to signing the deal in May 2014. This deal is unquestionably the biggest milestone in bilateral relations of Moscow and Beijing so far. The aim of the work however is not going into complex political problems of both countries. For this paper it is more important to analyze main obstacles which limit the cooperation and focus on the circumstances which allowed it to develop further. Diploma thesis is divided into several chapters. First part provides a brief view into the past and explains the absence of closer trade relations before. The next chapter focuses on the fact that this cooperation is extremely important for both aforementioned states. The third section examines the problem of Russia and China which restrict the cooperation. It also mentions outside factors, such as competing projects. Another three chapters are most important in the thesis and deal with the analysis of individual negotiations, leading to a final agreement in May 2014. Cooperation in the supply of gas in liquefied form which already works...

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) among tuberculosis (TB) patients are associated with nonadherence and poor treatment outcomes. We developed a multidisciplinary model to manage AUDs among TB patients in Tomsk, Russia. First, we assessed current standards of care through stakeholder meetings and ethnographic work. The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was incorporated into routine assessment of all patients starting TB treatment. We established treatment algorithms based on AUDIT scores. We then hired specialists and addressed licensing requirements to provide on-site addictions care. Our experience offers a successful model in the management of co-occurring AUDs among patients with chronic medical problems.

Climate warming is increasing fire severity in boreal forests and can alter forest structure and carbon (C) dynamics in Cajander larch (Larix cajanderi) forests of Siberia, which occur over C and ice-rich yedoma permafrost. Altered forest structure may impact understory vegetation through changing canopy cover, permafrost thaw depth, and soil temperatures. The primary objective of this study was to assess the long-term impacts of fire-driven changes in tree density on understory composition, diversity, and C pools and the underlying soil organic layer (SOL). Shrubs dominated low density stands, likely from reduced canopy cover and thaw depth, while mosses dominated high density stands. Consequently, understory C pools decreased from 415.46 to 158.87 g C m-2. Total SOL C pools remained unchanged as tree density increased. These findings suggest that fire-driven changes in tree density may alter understory composition and C pools, which could impact nutrient/water cycling and permafrost stability.

This study examines how travelogues by the Russian author Anton Chekhov, an American, George Kennan and a British citizen, Harry de Windt, contributed towards establishing the image of Siberia towards the end of the 19th century, juxtaposing their individual views against the commonly perceived view of the region at the time. In examining the texts, a literary analysis is merged with elements of other approaches, through a strong thematic focus, centring on the cultural and ideological assumptions implied in the texts. The findings reveal that both native inhabitants and foreigners are capable of expressing a justifiable opinion on a locality, resulting in different versions of what is observed, from divergent points of view. Although the three writers in this study appear to support a negative view of Siberia, closer investigation show evidence of optimism about the eventual destiny of a region in a stage of transition. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Russian)

This study examines how travelogues by the Russian author Anton Chekhov, an American, George Kennan and a British citizen, Harry de Windt, contributed towards establishing the image of Siberia towards the end of the 19th century, juxtaposing their individual views against the commonly perceived view of the region at the time. In examining the texts, a literary analysis is merged with elements of other approaches, through a strong thematic focus, centring on the cultural and ideological assumptions implied in the texts. The findings reveal that both native inhabitants and foreigners are capable of expressing a justifiable opinion on a locality, resulting in different versions of what is observed, from divergent points of view. Although the three writers in this study appear to support a negative view of Siberia, closer investigation show evidence of optimism about the eventual destiny of a region in a stage of transition. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / M.A. (Russian)